Not a Hero

chapter three

𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐊𝐘𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊. 

All of the other pairs had spread out across the skywalk and all seemed to be having a relatively good time. Most of them were talking and joking around. There were a bunch of boys, Jason spotted Leo amongst them, throwing pennies over the side. Then he saw Piper, who didn't look very happy at all. 

She was with a boy. Someone who Jason didn't know, though to be fair, he didn't know anyone here. He had amnesia. 

She pushed the boy away from him. "Keep your hand to yourself, Dylan," he heard Piper say to the boy, Dylan, apparently. Then she looked at Jason, her eyes pleading to him to help. Jason wanted to, he honestly did, but he was kind of busy. So he just tried to be supportive, smiling and nodding encouragingly at her, before walking over to Coach Hedge. 

Jason didn't really want to talk to Coach Hedge, the man was a bit too violent for his taste, but Hale had told him that coach could help him so he put his personal feelings aside and approaching the short man. 

He was leaning on his baseball bat, looking at the storm clouds, frowning. His frown deepened when he saw Jason. "Did you do this?" he asked. 

Jason frowned. Was he... was he asking Jason if he'd made the thunderstorm? Jason shook his head. That couldn't be it. The idea was so ridiculous but then again, so was the idea of everyone having false memories of him and he believed that wholeheartedly. 

"I didn't do anything," said Jason. 

Coach Hedge shot him a glare, beady eyes glinting underneath the rim of his blue cap. "Don't play games with me, kid." There was underlying threat in his words. "What are you doing here and why are you messing up my job?" 

"You don't know me?" asked Jason, relieved that Hale hadn't completely abandoned him. "I'm not one of your students?" 

Hedge snorted. "Never seen you before today." 

"Look sir," said Jason, deciding to trust the coach, "I don't know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I'm not supposed to be here." 

"Got that right." Hedge glanced over his shoulder as if to check if anyone was listening and then dropped his voice to a gruff whisper. "You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can't fool me. I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So, who are you and where'd you come from?" 

Jason couldn't understand a word what the coach was saying - was he even speaking English? - but decided to be answer honestly, certain that there would be consequences for doing otherwise. 

"I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories. Ha -" Jason stopped himself, he couldn't mention her - he was still supposed to distract Coach Hedge, "someone," corrected Jason, "told me that you can help me." 

Coach Hedge studied his face, eyebrows knitted together. It was if he was trying to read Jason's thoughts and for a moment, just a moment, Jason believed he could. "Great," muttered Hedge. "You're being truthful." 

"Don't sound too happy about," mumbled Jason, a nasty edge to his tone. Then he looked up, or rather down at Coach Hedge. "What was all that about monsters and half-blood? Are those code words or something?" 

Hedge narrowed his beady eyes, suspicion shining in them. He looked at Jason exactly as Hale had. Had. She seemed to trust him now. He wondered if she was still here. Probably not. She had mentioned many times that she wanted to escape.